Making the Commitment

About two weeks ago I got on my bicycle for the first time in possibly ten years because friends had encouraged me to do an 18 mile charity ride with them.

While I had been “training” on my stationary bike for much of the winter, at that moment when my feet stepped on the pedals of my road bike, I asked myself, “What was I thinking?!?” Still, as I hopped on and drifted down the driveway and onto the street, pedaling cautiously I was delighted to discover that it’s true – we never forget how to ride a bike!

Yet on the day of the ride, I discovered that I was still unprepared for those 18 miles along the Delaware River on a 90 degree day. The reason? I had not fully committed to the ride.

If you are not a cyclist, bear with me for a moment… Most bike pedals have a place in the center where a clip on your bike shoe can “clip in” to hold your foot locked onto the pedal. This allows you to get power on both the up stroke and the down stroke. But I hadn’t committed, so my bike shoes sat in my locker at the gym as I was “training” in my family room with my sneaks.

“Clipping in” requires confidence, strength, and practice. Or else your face might meet asphalt as you try to stop at an intersection. But I was approaching this ride casually, with thoughts like…

I have plenty of time to prepare…

It’s a flat road, I’ll be fine…

It’ll come back to me…

The same thing happens when we are job hunting. You may tell yourself that there’s no rush. You may reassure yourself by saying that you’ve done this before and you’ll be fine. Because it’s been so long, you may forget the nuances of the process (like navigating a hill without losing momentum!).

My takeaway? Clip in for the ride! Otherwise I am setting myself up for a lot of unnecessary pain. On the bike, and in a job search, commitment is everything.

Cheers to your career!

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